News From The Dead Zone #99

Breaking News from the Dead Zone

The debut entry Cemetery Dance’s MySpace blog is my report on The Three Kings event in Washington D.C. two weeks ago. There was also a nice write-up in The Washington Post.

Marvel announced Dark Tower: The End-World Almanac, which will be published on July 2. “Woe unto those who traverse beyond the cursed Borderlands into End-World! ‘Tis a twisted and desolate realm where it seems as if the world passed ages ago. From the blasted landscapes of Thunderclap to the frozen heights of Empathica, End-World shows no mercy to unwary young Gunslingers. In a world where information—and a bit of luck—is the key to survival, the End-World Almanac serves as your guide to the Badlands, Le Casse Roi Russe and beyond!”

Gunslinger Born and its artists received a total of four nominations in the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards: Best Limited Series, Best Penciller/Inker (Jae Lee), Best Cover Artist (Jae Lee) and Best Coloring (Richard Isanove). The results will be announced at an awards ceremony on Friday, July 25 at Comic-Con International.

“A Very Tight Place” will be in McSweeney’s #27, due out on May 1. Much of this 70+ page story takes place in a portable toilet at an abandoned construction site and is classic King. It is also the first King story I can recall that has a gay protagonist. You can get discounted issues at Amazon. Otherwise you’ll have to wait until Just After Midnight comes out this fall to read this great story. It’s not for the squeamish, though. Positively icky in places.

Mick Garris will direct Bag of Bones as a feature film, and executive-produce with Mark Sennett. The screenplay was written by Matt Venne. “What appeals to me about King in general and Bag of Bones in particular is how human it is,” Garris told Fangoria. “The recent King stuff is very adult and very passionate, which I really respond to. I just love the idea of doing a grown-up ghost story.”

Here are some reports about King’s appearance with Lauren Groff:

Recent Entertainment Weekly column: Videogame Lunacy.

News From The Dead Zone #96

Breaking News from the Dead Zone

Today is the publication day for the first installment of The Long Road Home. Some comic shops opened at midnight, but most others should have the Marvel comic book on their shelves by this afternoon.

The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, King’s musical collaboration with John Mellencamp, will have its World Premiere at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta from April 15 – May 10, 2009 . “In 1957, in the tiny town of Lake Belle Reve, Mississippi, a terrible tragedy took the lives of two brothers and a beautiful young girl. During the next forty years, the events of that night became a local legend. But legend is often just another word for lie. Joe McCandless knows what really happened; he saw it all. The question is whether or not he can bring himself to tell the truth in order to save his own troubled sons, and whether the ghosts left behind by an act of violence will help him…or tear the McCandless family apart forever.” If the show does well in Atlanta, it will move on to Broadway.

Tickets for The Three Kings are showing up both at the Folger Theater web site and on eBay, so if you want to go and haven’t purchased a ticket yet, here’s another chance.

King will be introducing Lauren Groff, author of The Monsters of Templeton, at a special event at 6:30 p.m. March 27 in Selby Auditorium at the University of South Florida, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $25, include a copy of Groff’s book, and are available at Sarasota News & Books, 1341 Main St. Whether King will be reading or interviewing the author has not yet been finalized.

All three parts of Lilja’s interview with King are now online at Lilja’s Library.

King’s most recent EW column is Your Movie and Concert Hall Hell. You may see a familiar name in it.

The first episode of a Bravo! Canada show called Books into Film will feature King’s works on March 6. “Series examining the adaptation of books into movies, using clips, interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. This episode: Hollywood’s long-running fascination with this versatile writer, author of Carrie, The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining and Stand By Me. Bravo! Canada is also re-airing An Evening With Stephen King on March 27 and March 28.